Lionel Messi Golden Boot betting

Lionel Messi odds for 2010 World Cup

Seen by many as the greatest player in the world right now, it is easy to see why Lionel Messi is one of the favourites to secure the Golden Boot in South Africa. The 22 year old argentine forward is available at 14/1 with Coral, surprisingly good odds considering the season he is having.

The tricky winger/striker has had his most prolific season in a Barcelona shirt. In 27 league appearances, he has managed an astounding 26 goals. His European record is similarly impressive with 8 goals in 9 appearances, including 4 against Arsenal in the 2nd leg of their quarter-final tie. He has certainly shown that on his day, he is capable of scoring multiple goals against any defence. His jinking runs and clever finishing make him the most feared forward on the planet right now.

On the international stage, things haven’t gone quite so well for Messi. Argentina stumbled through qualification and only progressed to the finals after their final group game. As a result of this poor qualification, Argentina aren’t fancied to have a long stay in this year’s competition and are tipped by many to fall at the quarter-finals. Given this, it may be hard for Messi to match the number of goals scored by for instance the Spanish forwards, who are likely to play more games. One thing in his favour however, is the quality of the opposition he will face in the group stages. He will fancy his chances of tallying up a good total of goals against the likes of Nigeria, Greece and South Korea.

Messi has 40 caps for Argentina and has managed a total of 12 goals in that time. I’m sure he will be looking to improve that goal to games ratio in South Africa and will look to bag as many goals as possible in the group stages. However, it remains to be seen whether this will be good enough to lead the goal scoring chart come the end of the tournament given Argentina’s anticipated performance.

Lionel Messi Golden Boot betting odds

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